Plastic bag dispenser system

ABSTRACT

Plastic bags which are each folded a number of times along parallel fold lines are arranged in overlapping sequence in the direction of the fold lines and are rolled up to form a cylindrically shaped coreless roll of bags. The cylindrical roll is contained within a package having an opening through which the leading bag can be pulled off the roll. The package is large enough to allow the roll to rotate when the bag is pulled off, and the bags are overlapped sufficiently so that the leading edge of the next bag will be rotated to a position of access through the package opening when the leading bag is pulled off the roll.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,826,361 Heckrodt 1 1 July 30, 1974 [54]PLASTIC BAG DISPENSER SYSTEM 3,718,251 2/1973 I Barnett 206/58 5 l t:W'll' F.H kodt,Mnaha,W'. [7 1 nve n or l ec r e S ls PrimaryExaminer-W1l11am 1. Prlce [73] Ass1gnee: Presto Products Incorporated,Assistant E h M pu M Appleton, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Whee1er,Morsell, House & 22 Filed: Dec. 13, 1972 Fuller [21] App]. No.: 314,865[57] ABSTRACT Plastic bags which are each folded a number of times [52]US. Cl 206/409, 221/47, 220066789041, along parallel fold lines arearranged in Overlapping 1 sequence in the direction of the fold linesand are 251 g 'rfzrsn B65 2 rolled up to form a cylindrically shapedcoreless roll of 1 0 can 6/56 i bags. The cylindrical roll is containedwithin a package having an opening through which the leading bag can bepulled off the roll. The package is large enough [56] References Cned toallow the roll to rotate when the bag is pulled off, UNITED STATESPATENTS and the bags are overlapped sufficiently so that the 789,7075/1905 Bellamy 206/58 leading edge of the next bag will be rotated to aposi- 2,068,167 1/1937 Dwight 206/59 R tion of access through thepackage opening when the 3.325.003 6/1967 Bilezerian 206/57 R leadingbag is puued ff the n 3,477,624 11/1969 Branyon ct a1. 206/58 13.698.548 10/1972 Stcnzel 2061/58 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates to dispenser systems for piecesof folded sheet material such as plastic bags which are used as linersfor garbage cans, trash cans, and general household and institutionaluse. In the past, large plastic bags such as used in dry cleaning plantsto cover cleaned suits and dresses have been stored on large dispensingrolls in which the individual bags are joined to each other alongperforated lines that can be relatively easily severed to separate onebag from the roll. Rolls of this type are, however, too large to be usedfor household garbage bags, which require a dispensing package that issmall enough to conveniently fit on the average household cabinet shelf.In order for the garbage bags to fit into a small enough package, it isnecessary to fold them several times along their length and this hasprecluded the use of perforated rolls. Accordingly, in the past, plasticbags for household garbage cans and trash cans have been folded intorectangles and stacked one on top of the other in relatively thinrectangular dispensing packages. A typical dimension for one such priorart packageis 9 /2 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 1% inches deep.

But although these prior art packages fulfilled their primary functionof holding anddispensing the bags, they have several drawbacks. In thefirst place, thin rectangular packages are not conveniently shaped forstorage on cabinet shelves. They take up toomuch room along their widedimensions and not enough room .along their thin dimension. In addition,such packages are not conveniently shaped for display on market shelves.In order to be stable, they must be stacked with their large surface ina horizontal plane, which exposes only their thin edge on the outside ofthe stack. This thin edge is too small to carry an advertising messageor to attract attention to the packages. Moreover, because of theirawkward shape, they are relatively hard to handle when they are beingfilled with bags at the factory and when they are being packed intocartons or removed from cartons or otherwise being handled individually.Finally, stacking the folded bags one on top of the other results in arelatively low density package that requires more storage volume per bagthan would be required in a higher density package.

In view of the above, one object of the invention is to provide adispenser system for pieces of folded sheet material which has a higherpackage density than those hereinbefore mentioned.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser system orpackage for pieces of folded sheet material which is easier or moreconvenient to use, easier to handle and to store and takes up less spacethan those hereinbefore mentioned.

An additional object of this invention is toprovide a dispenser systemfor pieces of folded sheet material in which the pieces are arranged inan overlapping sequence and are rolled up to form a substantiallycylindrically shaped coreless roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, theabove-noted objects are achieved by arranging the pieces of foldedmaterial in overlapping sequence in the direction of the fold lines,rolling the overlapped sequence of pieces up to form a substantiallycylindrically shaped roll, placing the roll in a substantially squarecross section carton which is large enough to allow the roll to rotatetherewithin, providing an opening in the carton through which pieces offolded material can be pulled off the roll, and the individual piecesbeing sufficiently overlapped so that the leading edge of the next pieceis rotated to a position adjacent to the opening when the leading pieceis pulled off the roll.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view takenthrough a folded plastic garbage bag or trash bag with the individualsheets being separated from one another for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of several such folded plastic garbage bags ortrash bags arranged in an overlapped sequence.

FIG. 3 is a sideview of the overlapped sequence shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one illustrative package of thisinvention containing a cylindrically shaped roll of overlapped plasticgarbage or trash bags.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second package of this inventioncontaining a cylindrically shaped roll of over-lapped plastic garbage ortrash bags.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The drawings show twoillustrative dispensing packages of this invention which arespecifically adapted to handle flat plastic garbage ortrash bags.

The plastic bags which are to be used in connection with the illustratedembodiments of the invention are made of relatively thin plastic sheetmaterial. The flattened condition of one size and style of such 'a bagmeasures approximately 3 feet long by 2% feet wide. In order to reducetheir width to a manageable size, i.e., a size that can beconveniently-stored on a household cabinet shelf, the bags arepreferably folded three times alongs fold lines l0, l2 and 14 as shownin FIG. 1 to reduce their width to approximately 8 inches. It should beunderstood, however, that the disclosed folds are exemplary and otherfolds could be employed if desired. The fold lines 10, 12 and 14preferably extend parallel to the side edges 16 and 18 of the flattenedbags, but it may be possible to have the fold lines extend parallel tothe top and bottom edges of the bags if desired. The first describedfolds are, however, preferable because they leave the open edge of thebag exposed so that the user can find it without having to unfold thebag first and they also leave an open end through which air may beexpelled during the rolling process to prevent the formation of airbubbles in the rolled bags.

In FIG. 1, the distance between adjacent side panels of the folded baghas been enlarged to illustrate the nature of the folds. In practice,however, the adjacent side panels are in contact with each other exceptwhen air bubbles are trapped between them.

'The above-noted folds produce a folded configuration that has eightpanels positioned one on top of the '3 other in contact with each other.When such a configuration is rolled up, there is a problem of keepingthe panels straight and also of keeping air from being trapped betweenthe panels. This is one of the reasons why it has been the practice inthe past to fold such bags into rectangles and package them one on topof the other. In accordance with this invention, however, it has beenfound that such folded bags can be rolled up neatly and that the rollsprovide a denser, more con venient and compact package than the thinrectangular packages used in the past.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, physically discrete folded bags are arrangedin an overlapping sequence in the direction of the fold lines. In thefinal product, the sequence of bags is rolled up, but for illustrationpurposes, the bags are shown as being flat in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thus thephysically discrete folded bags are serially related and aresequentially dispensible. Three folded bags 20, 22 and 24 are shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, each of which has a leading edge L, a trailing edge T,and two parallel side edges S1 and S2. With the method of folding shownin FIG. 1, the side edge 51 would correspond to the fold line in FIG. Iand the side edge S2 would correspond to the fold lines 12 and 14 laidone on top of the other. The leading edges L are preferably the openends of the bags and the trailing edges T are preferably the closed endsof the bags. The sequence of bags is arranged in the direction of thefold lines'with the leading edge of each bag overlapping the trailingedge of the next bag in the sequence'by a predetermined amount whichwill be discussed hereinafter.

The overlapped, folded bags are rolled up about an axis transverse totheir side edges S1 and S2 to form a substantially cylindrically shapedroll of bags as indicated by the numeral 26 in FIG. 4. This roll mayhave a core but it is preferably coreless to increase the packingdensity; The bags are rolled from their closed end first to prevent theformation of air bubbles in the rolled bags. In this example, the closedend of the bags corresponds to the trailing edge T shown in FIGS. 2 and3.

The roll 26 shown in FIG. 4 contains of the abovenoted plastic bags andis. approximately 3 1 inches in diameter and 8% inches long. The roll 26is inserted within a square cross-section paperboard box or package 28which is slightly larger in its dimensions that the roll 26 so that theroll is free to rotate within the package when the leading bag 30 ispulled off the roll. The

ing moment which causes the roll 26 to rotate. It is desirable for theroll 26 to rotate just enough so as to bring the leading edge L of thenext bag adjacent to the opening when the trailing edge T of bag 30clears roll 26. The amount of rotation for roll 26 is determined by theamount of overlap between the adjacent folded bags and the degree ofslip or coefficient of friction between them. In the case of someplastic bags, which tend to slip past each other quite easily, anoverlap in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 percent of the bag length ispreferred to achieve the desired degree of rotation. With othermaterials, where the bags tend to cling together, because of staticelectricity-or otherwise, the

overlap can be quite short. Accordingly, the amount of overlap may varyin proportion to the'slipperiness of the overlapped portions. v

FIG. 5 shows a different carton 38 for holding a cylindrical roll 40 ofplastic bags, the roll 40 being the same size as the roll 26. Thiscarton has an elongated corner opening or slot 42 through which theleading bag 44 can be pulled off roll 40. The slot 42 is defined by aperforated tear line and is openedby the consumer when he or she isready to remove one of the bags from the package. The slot 42 couldhaveother shapes and positions, and it-should therefore be understoodthat any opening which allows the bags to be conveniently removedtherethrough is suitable. i

The packages 28 and 38 are both 8% inches long, 3% inches wide, and 3%inches deep. This size is very convenient for handling and storage, andeach side of the package is large enough to carry a clearly legibleadvertising message. The balanced configuration of the packages reducesthe amount of paperboard required for the package and the corelesscylindrical roll gives a relatively high package density. The roll ofbags within the packages turns easily so that the individual bags may beremoved from the package quite readily. The removal of each bag pullsthe leading edge of the next bag into a position adjacent to the openingin the package where the next bag can be easily grasped to be removed.

For the purpose of description, it has been assumedthat the bags arearranged in overlapping sequence before they are rolled up, but inpractice the two operations may proceed simultaneously, i.e., the bagsmay be rolled up while they are being arranged in overlapping sequence.For example, the bags may be wound on a turning roll one at a time withthe trailing edge of each bag overlapping the leading edge of theprevious bag by the required amount. This may be done either manually orby automatic machinery as desired. The insertion of the rolls intothepackages may also be carried out either manually or by automaticmachinery as may the closing and sealing of the packages.

While in the illustrated embodiment the cross section of the carton 28is square, other cross sections which closely surround the roll 26 withlittle waste space can be used.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser for physically discrete, serially related,sequentially dispensible plastic bags, each of which is folded aplurality of times along substantially parallel fold lines, theimprovement in which said folded bags are arranged in overlappingsequence in the direction of said fold lines and are rolled up to form agenerally cylindrically shaped roll, a package dimensioned to containsaid roll, means defining an opening in said package through which theleading folded bag can be pulled off said roll, said package being largeenough to allow said roll to rotate when said leading bag is pulled offsaid roll, and said bags being overlapped sufficiently to that theleading edge of the next bag is rotated to a position of access adjacentto said opening when said leading bag is pulled off said roll.

2. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 in which said roll is coreless.

3. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 in which the means defining anopening in said package comprises a perforated line defining a slot insaid package, said slot being shaped to allow said folded bags to bewithdrawn therethrough.

4. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 in which the means defining anopening in said package comprises a hinged top on said package which canbe opened to allow said folded bags to be withdrawn therethrough.

5. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein the and closed ends of saidbag.

1. In a dispenser for physically discrete, serially related,sequentially dispensible plastic bags, each of which is folded aplurality of times along substantially parallel fold lines, theimprovement in which said folded bags are arranged in overlappingsequence in the direction of said fold lines and are rolled up to form agenerally cylindrically shaped roll, a package dimensioned to containsaid roll, means defining an opening in said package through which theleading folded bag can be pulled off said roll, said package being largeenough to allow said roll to rotate when said leading bag is pulled offsaid roll, and said bags being overlapped sufficiently to that theleading edge of the next bag is rotated to a position of access adjacentto said opening when said leading bag is pulled off said roll.
 2. Adispenser as defined in claim 1 in which said roll is coreless.
 3. Adispenser as defined in claim 1 in which the means defining an openingin said package comprises a perforated line defining a slot in saidpackage, said slot being shaped to allow said folded bags to bewithdrawn therethrough.
 4. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 in whichthe means defining an opening in said package comprises a hinged top onsaid package which can be opened to allow said folded bags to bewithdrawn therethrough.
 5. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein thecross-sectional shape of said package transverse to the axis of saidroll is square.
 6. A dispenser as defined in claim 1 wherein each foldedplastic bag has an open end and a closed end, and wherein said bags arefolded a plurality of times along parallel fold lines which extendbetween the open and closed ends of said bag.